Apple nails down date for China iPhone launch

Tags

Apple said on Tuesday it will begin selling its latest iPhones in China from 17 October after the Chinese regulator pressed the US giant to improve personal data security to gain approval.
Apple launched the large-screen iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 10 countries and regions on 19 September, though not in mainland China, with state media saying problems with licensing were the main obstacle.
The absence of China in the first round of sales was notable because Apple launched the iPhone 5s and 5c in the mainland at the same time as other major markets last year.
But on Tuesday the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on its website it had granted a network access licence for the phone.
The ministry said that in order to approve the licence it had sought pledges from the company to address concerns over the phone’s iOS operating system, owing to fears it risked leaking personal information.
National security
Third parties could obtain information stored on an iPhone by accessing a “trusted” computer or from an iPhone undergoing repair, the statement said.
“The ministry discussed the issue with Apple and raised related requirements on security management,” it said.
Apple pledged to upgrade security and protect privacy and “promised it ‘never established any so-called backdoor with any government organisations of any countries regarding any product or service’ and ‘never will'”, according to the statement.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV in July accused Apple of threatening national security through the iPhone’s ability to track a user’s location. Apple has denied any such threat.
Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook welcomed news of the approval.
“We are thrilled to bring iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to our customers in China on all three carriers at launch,” he said in a news release, referring to China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom. – fin24